The Queen Consort of Warri Kingdom, Her Majesty, Olori Atuwatse III, delivered a stirring keynote address at the 2025 FLAIR Summit in London, calling on African nations to consciously recognise and elevate women’s leadership at all levels of society from homes and markets to statehouses and boardrooms.
Speaking during a high-level session of the First Ladies of Africa Impact and Resilience (FLAIR) Summit, the Queen emphasized that Africa’s growth will remain incomplete unless women who already play central roles in families, economies, and communities are fully empowered and included in policy, leadership, and nation-building efforts.
The event drew dignitaries including the First Ladies of Oyo and Kwara states, lawmakers, investors, and global development partners.
The summit featured exclusive engagements at iconic venues such as the UK House of Lords, House of Commons, the London Stock Exchange, and the Royal Leonardo Hotel.
In her keynote titled “Elevating the Role of Women in Africa’s Development,” Olori Atuwatse shared a deeply personal experience from her life. “Shortly after my father passed, I, his firstborn, was told to watch from the sidelines. ‘There’s a difference between a firstborn and a first son,’ they told me,” she recounted.
The moment, she said, was a reminder of how traditional norms still attempt to reduce women’s roles regardless of their qualifications or achievements.
That painful experience, she explained, reaffirmed her purpose as a leader and strengthened her drive to advocate for gender equity.
Olori Atuwatse praised recent milestones in African leadership, highlighting Namibia’s President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
“For the first time, Africa has two sitting female heads of state. It’s remarkable. And it shows that change is possible.”
She emphasised that African women have often led without titles or applause. “In Warri and across Africa, women are breadwinners, entrepreneurs, teachers, and caregivers. They are birthers, binders, and builders of communities,” she said. “Yet people still ask whether women can lead. What a tired question.”
Her speech stressed that Africa’s future depends on mobilising this untapped leadership force. “Africa cannot thrive on the efforts of a few prominent female leaders alone,” she said. “We need grassroots women, those without formal power, seen, heard, and empowered.”
Through her EstablishHer mentorship programme in Nigeria, Olori Atuwatse has been helping women recognise their value and unlock their potential. “We don’t make them leaders,” she said. “We help them see they already are.”
She cited economic research suggesting that if African countries close the gender leadership gap by 2043, they could lift 53 million people out of extreme poverty and boost GDP per capita by 5 per cent. “The impact would be staggering,” she said.
To achieve this, Olori Atuwatse laid out a three-part framework: Mentor, Reform, and Empower.
She added, “This work isn’t only for women. Progress moves faster when we work together, fathers, husbands, traditional leaders, policymakers, and allies. Whether you’re a CEO promoting a young manager or a father encouraging his daughter, you’re part of this movement.”
The Queen’s keynote was one of the most applauded presentations at the summit. It resonated with ongoing debates across Africa around gender inclusion, cultural reform, and economic resilience.
The 2025 FLAIR Summit hosted a wide range of sessions focused on women’s health, entrepreneurship, governance, education, and innovation.
Panels included speakers from across Africa’s public and private sectors, the African Union, and international organisations.
Participants also explored actionable policy recommendations for increasing female representation in politics and business. These included access to credit for women-owned enterprises, reforms in inheritance and land rights, and gender-sensitive budgeting by African governments.
In closing her address, Olori Atuwatse issued a powerful challenge: “Let us build an Africa where no one says, ‘There’s a difference,’ to deny a woman’s leadership. Let us unlock the power already humming in Africa’s homes, farms, labs, and workshops. Our future depends on it.”
Also, the Queen Consort, Olori Atuwatse III, was honoured at the iconic London Stock Exchange for her contribution to women’s development and the Flair Summit 2025 in London.
The award was presented to Her Majesty by Jennifer Thomas, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion of London Stock Exchange Group.
As the summit concluded, organisers praised her message as a rallying call that would help guide development efforts across Africa in the years ahead.
